Whoa! Don't just toss those fluorescent bulbs -- recycle

Paul Kilduff, Special to The Chronicle

Published
4:00 am PDT, Saturday, April 21, 2007

A compact fluorescent light bulb which has mercury warning on it, is pictured in Great Falls March 28, 2007. Mercury is poisonous, but it's also a necessary part of most CFLs, the kind that environmentalists and some governments are pushing as a way to cut energy use. To prevent mercury from getting into landfills, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency, CFL makers and various organizations advocate recycling. To match feature ENVIRONMENT-LIGHTBULBS/ REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang (UNITED STATES) 0 less

A compact fluorescent light bulb which has mercury warning on it, is pictured in Great Falls March 28, 2007. Mercury is poisonous, but it's also a necessary part of most CFLs, the kind that environmentalists ... more

Photo: HYUNGWON KANG

Photo: HYUNGWON KANG

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A compact fluorescent light bulb which has mercury warning on it, is pictured in Great Falls March 28, 2007. Mercury is poisonous, but it's also a necessary part of most CFLs, the kind that environmentalists and some governments are pushing as a way to cut energy use. To prevent mercury from getting into landfills, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency, CFL makers and various organizations advocate recycling. To match feature ENVIRONMENT-LIGHTBULBS/ REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang (UNITED STATES) 0 less

A compact fluorescent light bulb which has mercury warning on it, is pictured in Great Falls March 28, 2007. Mercury is poisonous, but it's also a necessary part of most CFLs, the kind that environmentalists ... more

Photo: HYUNGWON KANG

Whoa! Don't just toss those fluorescent bulbs -- recycle

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The fluorescent bulb is no longer just an office fixture. Energy-saving fluorescent bulbs, which last as much as 10 times as long as conventional ones and use 20 percent less electricity, are as likely to be found brightening your nightstand as your desk at work.

With power companies like PG&E subsidizing their manufacture, fluorescents are also cheaper than they've ever been -- as little as $1, during some store promotions, for compact fluorescent bulbs that fit into most lamps.

But, unlike the incandescent bulb, which seems to produce more heat than a french fry warmer, the fluorescent bulb can't simply be tossed into the trash when it burns out.

Under the Electronic Waste Recycling Act, a state law that went into effect for small businesses and households last year, it's now a no-no to throw spent fluorescent bulbs into your trash bin.

While it's extremely doubtful that the state Department for Toxic Substances Control will come after you for throwing a fluorescent bulb or other toxic material away -- they're concentrating on business offenders -- if they receive enough complaints about a household, they'll respond. Fines can reach as much as $25,000 a day per violation.

Other everyday household products now banned from the landfill-bound trash bin include batteries, thermostats and thermometers, microwaves, electronics, full aerosol spray cans and many other products containing toxic metals. The rationale behind the law is to prevent leaks from these toxins once they reach the landfill that could end up contaminating the water table.

Fluorescent bulbs have been targeted because they contain mercury, a carcinogen that might dissipate into the air after being crushed on its bumpy ride in a garbage truck from your house to the landfill. San Francisco's disposal company, S.F. Recycling, treats fluorescent bulbs so gingerly that one employee spends half his workday boxing up any tubes or bulbs they receive without breaking them for transport to a recycling center.

If you happen to drop a fluorescent bulb in your home, manufacturers recommend that you don't vacuum it up, as that might spread mercury particles. Instead, they advise sweeping it up with a dustpan and storing the contents for proper disposal.

Just as computer monitors now are sold with a $10 surcharge that funds their recycling, Paul Fresina, manager of S.F. Recycling's Household Hazardous Waste Facility, would like to see a similar surcharge added to the price of fluorescent bulbs. "What's more important? Energy savings or proper management and reducing undesirable materials" from the landfill? asks Fresina, who estimates that his company spends 45 cents to recycle each compact fluorescent bulb and 6 to 7 cents per foot for the tubes.

Fresina would like to see a surcharge of 50 cents put on each bulb. He also recommends that, in keeping with the producer responsibility movement, retailers that sell the bulbs be required to take them back.

Some already do, but in general the service is not promoted.

Home Depot will take back burned-out lights, and Lowes Home Improvement stores have bins for spent batteries. In addition, all Walgreens in San Francisco will take back batteries. However, while stores that sell fluorescent bulbs are not required to take them back at the end of their life cycle, many do -- just don't look for any prominent signs advertising the fact. You may have to ask a clerk, and if they've got room for more hazardous waste, they'll take yours.

If you can't throw fluorescent bulbs away, what do you do with them?

Recognized as a national leader on recycling, San Francisco toyed with the idea of setting up red bins for hazardous waste to go along with the city's black (garbage), blue (recycling) and green (compost) bins. The idea was rejected after it was deemed too dangerous to have various toxic materials intermingled in a single cart. For now, short of calling in your local police department's hazardous materials response team, Bay Area waste disposal companies and jurisdictions have various plans set up.

San Francisco: This month, S.F. Recycling started offering a household hazardous waste pickup service that allows you to make an appointment to have fluorescent bulbs, batteries and other toxic items picked up. Residents must be home and will not be allowed to leave the waste in front of their home.

The service will not pick up e-waste (TVs, monitors, computers and other electronics) or hazardous waste from businesses. Residents who want to get rid of e-waste can schedule one of their twice-yearly bulky Item Collection pickups at (415) 330-1400.

The following San Francisco locations also take spent fluorescent bulbs:

Contra Costa County: The county's Household Hazardous Waste Program offers three drop-off facilities for fluorescent bulbs, batteries and other toxic materials: Richmond, 101 Pittsburg Ave., (888) 412-9277; Martinez, 4797 Imhoff Place, (800) 646-1431; East County, 2550 Pittsburg-Antioch Highway, (925) 756-1990. You must be a resident of the area (i.e, West, Central or East County) to drop off materials. Call ahead to determine which facility you should use and their hours.

Marin: The county operates a drop-off facility for residents (except Novato residents) at 565 Jacoby St, San Rafael, (415) 485-6806. Novato residents must make an appointment at their facility by calling (415) 892-7344.